Makhosi Khoza, ANC KZN on collision course

AFRICAN National Congress Member of Parliament Dr Makhosi Khoza and the KwaZulu-Natal party leadership are on a collision course following the decision to charge her for going against the party’s constitution.

Khoza was officially charged on July 25 and is said to have contravened 11 party rules which include bringing the party into disrepute and failing to comply with party policy. Her Facebook posts heavily criticizing the movement and President Jacob Zuma were the basis for the charges.

The organisation accused her of failing to use the correct platforms within the movement to raise her unhappiness and issues.

Singled out: ANC MP Dr Makhosi Khoza questions why she is only one being prosecuted for speaking out against President Jacob Zuma.

“These statements were made outside the structures of the organisation. Indeed, you refused and/or failed to use the opportunity provided by the National Policy Conference, which you attended, to legitimately raise your views on the platform provided. A significant portion of your statements constitute a public attack on the organisation and its leadership in language and tone that is contrary to the culture and tradition of the organisation,” the province said in the charge sheet.

The province said Khoza made various statements on her Facebook page and should have known they would be made public. The charge sheet said a significant portion of her statements constituted a public attack on the organisation and its leadership in a language and tone that was contrary to the culture and tradition of the organisation.

“Your conduct was dismissive and defiant of the processes and authority of the African National Congress’ decision-making mechanisms. Your statements included a direct attack on an undermining of a long-held principle of the ANC, namely democratic centralism. The cumulative effect of the above was to bring the ANC into disrepute and undermine the unity and cohesion of the organisation as contemplated in the above-stated rules,” the charge sheet read.

Resolute: Dr Makhosi Khoza says the ANC constitution and rules are being used to silence voices

Khoza has been very vocal in criticising and calling for Zuma to step down. Her many public statements resulted in her receiving death threats. She has however refused police protection.

Khoza took to Facebook to respond to the charges and accused the party of singling her out from all other party members who have made public statements criticising Zuma and the party. She said she would be attending the hearing which has been set out for September 10. She, however, questioned the fairness of the process as senior members have been calling for her dismissal.

“In the recent past, several senior ANC officials including members of parliament, have publicly raised their concerns regarding our President. No action has been taken against those individuals. The ANC will need to explain why I am being singled out. As a life-long and loyal member of the ANC, I respect the processes of the organisation and I will attend the disciplinary hearing, as is required. I do, however, have significant reservations as to the fairness I can expect of the process, considering senior leaders within the ANC have publicly called for my dismissal,” said Khoza.

She went further to continue criticising the organisation saying the ANC’s constitution, upon which the disciplinary processes were built, was developed to guide the ANC she joined when I was 12 years-old. Khoza said that was the ANC where members were required to truly live the values and principles of our organisation, something that is currently not happening.

“That was the ANC that valued selfless dedication in the struggle for a democratic South Africa and a genuine concern for the will of the people, as captured in the principles of Batho Pele – People First. Our current leadership is not putting the people first. Our current leadership does not live the values of our organisation yet they choose to selectively apply sections of our organisation’s constitution to quell any voices of discontent. The ANC will not tolerate dissenting voices and these charges are proof of that. I was raised in an ANC that spoke truth to power. I spoke truth to power in the 80s and 90s and I want to belong to an ANC that still values its founding principles,” she said.

Dr Makhosi Khoza in Parliament

Khoza added that she was being persecuted because she can no longer tow the party line because she cannot accept corruption, looting, a disregard for the people who brought them to power and the propping up of growing Kleptocracy.

“My ANC suffocates reason, morality and ethical behaviour. My statements in the recent past simply mirror that which millions of South Africans have been saying, they have had enough. To side with the ANC of today requires me to disregard my moral fibre. I am no longer willing to be an apologist for an organisation and a leader that has lost its way. It is within this context that I have chosen not to accept the police protection that was finally offered to me by Parliament and the SAPS. These issues are all interrelated. I cannot expect my ‘executioner’ to plead mercy for me,” she said.

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